


Never Alone

by arianapeterson19



Series: Avengers Shorts [37]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Clint Barton, Insecure Tony, M/M, Multi, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Clint Barton, Protective Phil Coulson, Sleepy Cuddles, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 23:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6259951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arianapeterson19/pseuds/arianapeterson19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh Tony, my boy," chuckled Stane, stroking Tony's cheek while the genius yanked to get away but couldn't get far, the steel rung he was clinging to acting as the only thing keeping his head above the fold smelling water. "Don't you know by now? You can never be rid of me."</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>The one where Tony has a bad dream.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Alone

"You're supposed to be dead," whispered Tony, hating how his voice trembled with fear and betrayal and something he didn't quite have a word for but it felt like a version of guilt. Guilt for killing him, guilt for trusting him, guilt for not feeling overly guilty. "I saw you die."

 

"Oh Tony, my boy," chuckled Stane, stroking Tony's cheek while the genius yanked to get away but couldn't get far, the steel rung he was clinging to acting as the only thing keeping his head above the fold smelling water. "Don't you know by now? You can never be rid of me."

 

Tony woke screaming, thrashing away from the hands that tried to hold him, scooting back until he fell off the oversized bed and then he kept going until he hit a corner where he curled in on himself. The entire room shook with a force that would surely make it on the Rictor Scale - or maybe that was just him, it was difficult to tell the difference. 

 

"Tones, honey please," came the soft voice that sounded nothing like the burly resonance of Stane's tone. "Come on, let me help baby."

 

"He's back," gasped Tony, blinking until his eyes were clear - when had they filled with tears?

 

"Who's back?"

 

"Stane. He's back and he's going to kill me."

 

Clint never said something from Tony's nightmares was impossible, and for that the genius was eternally grateful. It could have been because Clint believed everything was possible or it could have been because Clint knew what nightmares were like, but he never cheapened Tony's fears to being silly figment of the genius's overactive imagination. Instead, the archer pulled out his phone and pressed the speed dial, putting it on speaked while he joined Tony in the corner, pulling the trembling billionaire into his arms.

 

"Coulson," came the crisp answer on the other line.

 

"How much longer?" asked Clint, resting his chin on Tony's slightly sweaty locks when his boyfriend tucked his head against his chest.

 

"I can be there in two minutes," replied Coulson.

 

"Make it faster," said Clint before hanging up.

 

Tony said nothing, burrowing closer to Clint's warmth as though that alone would stop the cycling reaction of his body.

 

"JARVIS, please run a global search on all facial and body recognition matching Stane," said Clint. "Send the results to Nat to filter and report back in the hour. Until then, we are on total lock down ."

 

"Understood," replied JARVIS.

 

Coulson entered the bedroom, peeled off his jacket, and joined his two lovers on the ground, bring with him pillows and blankets fro. Their bed. He didn't question why he had been called up from the paperwork he was desperately behind on - the reason was obvious when Tony all but crawled into his skin as soon as the agent was close enough to manage. It was unfortunate but they all had nightmares and Tony's were worse than most, having gone through so much alone and without the proper training.

 

"Stane," mouthed Clint when Phil raised an eyebrow at him.

 

Phil nodded his understanding then turned his attention down to the shaking man in his arms.

 

"You're okay, baby," assured Phil. "We've got you. I know, it's scary, but last time you had to do it alone. You had to do something awful by yourself to protect the world and Pepper. But this time you've got an entire team. You've got Clint and me who won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

 

Tony nodded.

 

"But we can stay here?" asked Tony in that small voice he knew his lovers hated, cringing because it upset them to hear him so scared.

 

"It's a good vantage point," said Clint. "We can see the entire room from here. No one can surprise us this way."

 

Try to sleep, love," said Phil, kissing Tony's temple and holding Clint's hand. "We'll protect you. Trust me, if Stane ever shows his face in this or any other dimension, he will be dead before he can blink."

 

The offer should have made him uneasy, the way both his boyfriends willingly spoke of killing someone Tony had long ago killed, but it didn't. It made him feel safe and loved and a little less like Stane really could come back from the dead. Because even if he did, Tony trusted Phil and Clint to be there with him.

**Author's Note:**

> Super short but I don't have a computer right now. Just wanted to post something.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


End file.
